Massamba
Massamba
Est. Birth January 2002
Massamba was transported to Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center from the country of Angola in May 2004, where he lived with his chimpanzee family in the forest before his mother was killed for bushmeat. He was confiscated from a hunter by Angolan authorities, and an employee of the United Nations in Angola helped organize his transfer to Cameroon. A Sanaga-Yong volunteer, who spoke Portuguese (the official language of Angola), traveled to Congo to meet authorities and take the baby at the Congo/Angola border. When they arrived at Sanaga-Yong after the long international voyage, Massamba had gotten his little hand stuck in a plastic water bottle. He had to be sedated for its removal.
Massamba lived in the nursery with babies Berchi, Mika, Foe, Robby, and Jack, until they were all introduced to adult males Kiki and Chouki in late 2005.
Today, Massamba is a beautiful adult male, who still lives with Kiki’s social group of chimpanzees. He gets a lot of support from his friend Kiki, and he often competes with Robby for the affections of Ava, a lovely female who was introduced to the group in 2015.